[MDWeezer]

This is my first Apple notebook [of many!], it's a iBook G4. How long is it safe to sleep and how long will the battery last under the sleep conditions?

Has anyone tried running the "safe sleep" hack on their iBook G4?

Thanks!

[volcano]

If you're not going to use your iBook for a couple of days (an extended period of time), it is recommended that you completely shut down your iBook. If you use it daily or semi-frequently, you can safely put it to sleep as often as you like. I never shut down my iBook unless I need to restart it due to a Software Update - Unix is very stable, and unlike Windows, it doesn't have to be restarted frequently.

In fact, I would put it into sleep mode as much as possible - everytime you shut down/power on or restart your computer (whether PC or Mac) it sends a huge surge of power through the circuitry, and this could lead to problems in the future.

One thing to keep in mind: sleep mode does deplete the battery, and it will continue to power RAM - so whatever was in the RAM prior to being put to sleep will still be there when you awake it. It does consume low levels of power, but I usually keep my iBook connected to my charger when I put it to sleep overnight. Apparently on new Powerbooks introduced last month there is a new "safe sleep mode" that actually conserves battery when it is put it sleep... but I know nothing beyond that.

[brokenjago]

Safe Sleep Mode simply protects the data in RAM by copying the info on the RAM to the HD, so that even if the battery dies, you don't lose the sleep state. It still uses minimal battery.

I've heard of a PowerBook sleeping for a week and still being perfectly useable.

[ghporter]

Don't buy the "huge surge of power" idea. It just doesn't happen-it's a myth perpetuated by people who, long ago, tinkered with their jury-rigged kit-built computers and blew them up. Turning on ANY modern computer is a staged event that effectively applies power "softly," in a manner that doesn't do any damage at all.

However, it is perfectly fine to put your Mac to sleep as often as you like for a fairly long period of time. I'd stay away from putting it so sleep for a couple of weeks, but a long weekend is no problem at all.

You should, however, make sure there is some power in the battery before you put the machine to sleep. I'm not sure what happens to the battery if you let it get too low and then put the machine to sleep, but that's more a battery issue than an overall iBook issue.